Consolations
by mrsProbie
Summary: Hermione's life is in ruins- her best friend asked her to marry her, she refused, he assaulted her, and now she's been blasted into the past. When is she? Can she get back? Most importantly, can she get the romance she has always desired?
1. In Which Hermione Turns Him Down

**A/N: Generally, I don't like to write fics that aren't extremely canon-compliant (meaning it's possible, it just didn't happen in Rowling's writings), but this little plot bunny won't leave me alone. So... Tonks, Remus, Severus, and Sirius are alive. Yes, I went there. (Please don't hurt me.) This is just a fic I'm going to be working on when I get writer's block for my other ones, so don't expect updates super often. On second thought, at the rate I'm going with my other fics, it'll be through in no time. [eye roll]**

**Disclaimer: If I were J. K. Rowling, Neville would be badass BEFORE the seventh book. God, he got hot after Goblet of Fire. Up until (and including) that point, he was kind of awkward. Anyways. Is Neville badass before DH? No. So am I JKR? No. So do I own HP? Yes. LOLROFLJKNO.**

**Hermione POV**

Ron took a velvet box out of his coat pocket and held it open, across the table, revealing the princess-cut diamond ring inside. "Hermione, will you marry me? Not yet, of course, but... you know, once I get through Auror training and we're settled and all?"

Before I could even react, Ginny cut in- and I was reminded of where we were. Ron and I were sitting across from each other at the Weasley dinner table for Christmas, surrounded by the rest of the Weasley clan, Harry, and the majority of the Order. "Ronald Weasley, you daft git, that is _not_ a proper proposal! Get down on your knee. Do it again. Hermione deserves at least a half-decent proposal." Molly went to reprimand her daughter, but Arthur patted her arm softly, which seemed to calm her down a bit.

Beaming, Ron complied. I was still in a state of shock as Harry grabbed my arm and rotated me gently so I could see Ron on his knee, as though begging. "Hermione Jean Granger, will you do me the honor of spending the rest of your life with me?"

I blinked. I'd known that Ron fancied himself in love with me, but I had no idea he was going to just randomly pop the question like that. Especially considering that I had turned down his previous offers for dates after that all-too-disastrous first attempt (which I remembered all two clearly- it ended with me sitting in the corner of Three Broomsticks with Hannah Abbott discussing the idiocy of certain Gryffindor and Hufflepuff men while Ron and Ernie had a drinking contest).

"R- Ron. I-" I was cut off by Ron giving a loud whoop. "No."

His grin slowly faded. "What?"

My voice grew stronger, but I felt like I was shrinking. "I said, no."

And, leaving him with that, I went up to my bedroom and threw myself onto my bed, tears beginning to fall quickly. I could hear them downstairs consoling Ron. After what felt like hours- but was, in reality, likely a matter of minutes- there was a knock at the door. I sniffed. "Who's there?"

"It's Remus. May I come in?"

I considered for a moment. "Okay."

He slipped into the room slowly, and shut the door quietly. "Hermione-"

"If you're going to ask me what possessed me to refuse Ron's hand in marriage, then you might as well leave now, because I don't care to explain my reasons!" I lashed out angrily.

Remus raised his hands in defense. "Not what I was going to ask about." He put his hands down, and sat on the edge of my bed. I sat up. "I just wanted to make sure you're all right. You looked pretty upset."

"Well, you would be, too, if you had to turn down a fucking _marriage proposal_ from one of your best friends," I hissed, not caring what he thought of my profanity. To my surprise, he didn't care.

"You're right," he said, nodding slowly. "I would be rather... upset, if I had to tell Sirius that I wasn't in love with him, and that he needed to stop begging me for a date. Or a wedding."

I couldn't help but let out a sharp bark of laughter at that. "True, true. Not quite the same, but true."

He smiled. "There's the Hermione we all know. Pointing out my logical inconsistencies, and whatnot. I don't know _who_ that crying woman was. I'd never seen her before."

I frowned. "You have seen her, but never in such a state." Remus seemed unsure of what to say to that.

"Would you like some tea?" He finally asked. "Molly is starting some downstairs."

I nodded. "Yes, please."

"Sugar?"

"Just a little."

"Any honey?"

"No, thanks."

"Be right back."

**Remus POV**

"Oh, Remus, would you like some tea?" Molly asked- ever the mother.

"Yes, please. And a cup for Hermione, as well."

"Oh, so she'll talk to him, but not _me_!" Ron moaned from the corner. "I'll bet she'd marry _him_!"

_Ah, if only he knew. _Once upon a time, she and I had been so close to marriage. But that- that was years ago, and it would hardly be proper now.

"Ron, settle down, you're clearly upset by what's happened," I said gently. Sirius once told me I had a gift for dealing with those under extreme stress. "You can't let it get to you. It's difficult, but not-"

"Easy for you to say," the redhead groaned. "How many times have _you_ had a marriage proposal to the girl you loved rejected?"

"Twice," I said quietly. Now _that_ brought back memories. It also managed to shut Ron up momentarily.

"Tea's ready, Remus. Sugar or honey?"

"A dab of both in mine, just sugar in Hermione's."

"Here you are, dear. Is she all right?" Molly asked worriedly as she handed me the two cups of steaming tea.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out, Molly."

**Hermione POV**

"Thanks for the tea, Remus," I murmured. Out of everyone there, he had been the most understanding over the last few days. We'd been having morning tea together every day, and I liked that I didn't have to try and censor my thoughts on something when I was talking to him. It was... nice.


	2. In Which Hermione Time Travels

**Me: I own Harry Potter!**

**George: No, you don't.**

**Me: (sob) How could you say that?**

**George: Because it's the truth.**

**Me: I _hate_ you!**

**George: No, you don't. You love me.**

**Me: True. And fine, I don't own Harry Potter. Or you, for that matter.**

**Hermione POV**

It had been two weeks since the defeat of Voldemort and a week since Ron's proposal, and my world was, to put it in one word, ruined. Fights and miniature duels with Ron were constant, as were glares from Ginny and Mrs. Weasley. I was pleased, however, to see that the rest of the Weasley clan had taken it much better than those three.

"Ron, don't even start," I warned when he barged into my room, holding his wand.

"Start what? Getting upset because I recently had my dreams crushed? I'll try not to," he said scathingly (and rather immaturely, if I may say so).

"Ron, will you just get the _hell_ over it?"

"No, I won't. Because I can't!" He yelled.

"Ron, you are just so- so- so **insufferable**!" I yelled back.

"Oh, look at me," Ron said in a soprano voice, "I'm Hermione Granger, and I know big words and think I'm better than everyone else."

"I do _not_ think I'm better than everyone else!" I said darkly. "Now, take it back."

"Don't think I will."

"Take it back!" I tossed a stinging hex at his wand hand.

"Oi!" He sent a Diffindo my way (over-reacting just a bit, right?), and I tried to dodge it, but it hit me on my chest, right where my Time-Turner from seven years ago was. I had brought it along on a whim- it was a bad idea, but it was like the idea had its own gravity, pulling me towards it until I gave in.

It set the Time-Turner spinning, rather than breaking it, and I glared up at him. Unfortunately, he wasn't there any more. The world was spinning around me. I tried to stop the thing, but it was a moment before I stopped fumbling and could get a proper grasp on it.

When it finally stopped, I glanced around. There was a calendar on the wall opposite where it normally was. June 1977, it said, and had small crosses through each of the days, up until the seventh. _Shit_. I could hear voices downstairs, and, knowing it wouldn't end well if I were caught here, Apparated to Diagon Alley. I borrowed a paper from someone who was ready to get rid of theirs, plopped onto a bench, and read.

Twenty thousand vampire attacks in Borneo- I shuddered, and remembered reading about those back in the future- my past- whichever. (I decided to just call it the past.) The attacks were the result of the Death Eaters riling them up and blaming the Muggles, but apparently nobody knew that yet.

There were a few mentions of He-Who-Has-No-Nose, but nothing serious, so either everyone was too afraid to talk about it, or he hit his peak right before Halloween, 1981. Presumably the former.

**Ron POV**

I stared at the spot where Hermione had been moments ago. "Wh- where the- she-" I ran downstairs to tell the others what had happened, before realizing that this would make me sounds like a total prat.

Deciding it didn't matter as long as I got Hermione back, I entered the kitchen slowly.

"Ron, are you all right?" Ginny asked. "We heard you two yelling upstairs."

I shook my head. "She's gone."

Remus looked at me sharply. "Do you mean she's run away, or she's disappeared?"

I looked at my feet. "I don't know. We got into a duel, kind of. She hit me with a stinging hex, and I hit her with a Diffindo-" I was cut off by the collective gasp around the room. "Look, I know that was over-reacting, and that I'm an arse for doing that. Let me finish. She kind of glared up at me, and then it looked like she was about to say something, but she disappeared too fast."

"Was there a pop?" Harry asked.

"What?"

"Was there a pop when she disappeared?" Harry repeated, slower this time.

I thought back to that second. "No, I don't think- no. There definitely wasn't."

Harry's eyes met Sirius's. "So she didn't Apparate out," Sirius supplied. He had been surprisingly quiet about all of this- the proposal, rejection, fighting.

"You're right," I said, "she couldn't have." This gave me hope.

**Remus POV**

Sirius pulled me out of the room. "Do you think this is it? Do you think this is when it happens?"

I shrugged. "Looks the right age. And, if I remember correctly, she mentioned just going through a difficult time in her life. This certainly fits that description."

He nodded. "I hope she gets back all right. I mean, we saw her leave, but we never knew if she-"

"Sirius, she'll be fine. Merlin, I didn't know you still had a crush on her," I said, and elbowed him in the ribs. He grinned sheepishly.

"Every time I see her, I think of her as Professor Mayer, not Hermione. I wonder if she ever told anybody who she really was. Besides us wonderful Marauders, you know."

"I doubt it. I mean, she and Severus developed a close bond back then, but he still seems to hate her."

"Well, Snape might just hate her because he's a nasty, prejudiced, git."

I glared. "You do know he was working for Albus the entire time, right? And that he couldn't be very nice, because it would blow his cover?"

"What about before that, when he was still an arse to us?"

"Sirius, we were mean to him, too."

"Whatever. I think Professor Mayer got onto you a bit too much for bullying."

I smiled. "Maybe. Now, let's go get some cake. I think there's some left over from Tonks's birthday party."

**Hermione POV**

I frowned. It was getting dark, and I needed somewhere to stay for the night. Unfortunately, I had no money on me, and, seeing as I technically didn't exist yet, I couldn't just go to Gringotts and make a withdrawal. I walked down the (now nearly empty) street and entered the Leaky Cauldron tentatively.

"Hello, there," Tom said from behind the bar. Well, it was a much younger version of Tom. "What can I get for you, miss?" I bit my lip and stepped closer to him.

"Well, I need a place to stay for the night, but... I don't have any money. Do you think, if I did some work around the Leaky, I could-"

"Of course!" Tom said, beaming. "I'm always needing a little help around this place. Can you cook, or do many cooking spells?"

I winced, and shook my head. "Not very well."

"All right, then, you can wait tables." He handed me a menu and directed me to the front door. "If anyone comes through there, ask if they want a table or are here for the bar."

"Er- okay." I hadn't expected him to just jump and hire me like that.

**A/N: Damn, those were some quick responses on your part. This is in honor of my first reviewer, Dramione-Fan 17. I was going to wait until tomorrow to write another chapter, but you people just make me so happy! :DD Okay, enough fangirly-ness.**

**Oh, and remember: favorites and alerts are nice, but reviews can tell me up to ten thousand characters. So tell me what you like, what you dislike, what you think was nice, but could be improved. Or, whatever. If you have no opinion, that's... all right, I guess.**


	3. Moment

**A/N: I'm sorry I haven't really written more of any of my stories lately. I... blech.**

**Disclaimer: Do you really think I would be sitting around writing crappy fanfiction if I were Rowling? No, I would be busy writing some sequels! So, logically, I am not Rowling. If you think I might be, tell me- that way I can get some of that money and give it to the charities _I_ want to give it to. Like Peta2.**

**Song I listened to while writing this: "Samson" by Regina Spektor**

**Hermione POV**

"Well, _hello_, miss." I turned around and came face to face with a young man who apparently thought he was hot stuff, and was attempting to flirt. He looked just shy of eighteen, maybe still seventeen. "Group of four."

I smirked. "Would you like a booster seat, love?" One of his friends sniggered.

He frowned. "I'll be fine, I promise."

"All right, then, if you're sure. This way," I said, gesturing towards the opposite side of the building. I had to push through a small group of regulars to get to the table I was giving the group of teens. "Excuse me, thank you, pardon me."

"Hey, 'Nette," one of them said ('Nette was short for Annette Mayer, the name I'd assumed), "how about a little-" he thrust his pelvis back and forth a few times- "in the loo?"

"Go fuck yourself, Samuel," I muttered as I walked away, leading the boys to their table. Samuel Malfoy- yes, the eldest brother of famed arse Lucius Malfoy- had to be the biggest wanker I had ever had the misfortune of encountering.

"Well, that was crude," one of the boys (not the flirtatious one) said as he sat down.

I blushed. "I'm very sorry."

"Oh, not you," he said quickly, "that man."

"Yeah, he's kind of..."

"Not really a nice person, it seems."

I nodded as I set menus in front of each boy. "Well, I'm Annette," I said, addressing the table at large now, "and I'm in charge of making sure you buy lots of food and alcohol. What would you like to drink?"

"Butterbeer," said the quiet one in the corner, a meek boy with a little extra weight on him. He looked a bit familiar.

"Same," said the one sitting across from him, whom I immediately recognized as James Potter. Now I could easily figure the identities of the others- the flirtatious one, with black hair and silver eyes, was Sirius Black. The tallest, sandy-haired one (who had seemed the most sane of the four) was Remus Lupin. And the boy in the corner was Peter Pettigrew. I felt a surge of hate for the boy, but managed to keep it in check, keeping in mind that he was just a teenager now, and hadn't done anything (yet) to deserve that.

"Are you all right?" James asked. I realized the other two must have told me their orders.

I shook my head, pulling myself out of thought. "I'm sorry, I just totally spaced out. Can you repeat that?"

"Butterbeer for me, butterbeer for him, gillyweed tea for the poof," he said, gesturing toward Remus, who crossed his arms and rolled his eyes, "and firewhiskey for that one," finished James, pointing to Sirius.

"Oh, so now I'm _that one_? What the hell?" Sirius demanded.

"Thanks. I'll have that right out."

As I trudged to the back to retrieve two bottles of butterbeer, I could still hear James and Sirius arguing. It was quite funny, really, the whole situation. Once you took out the whole horrific bit about Sirius hitting on me.

"Oh, Merlin," I muttered to myself. "This can't end well." I bit my lip before stepping back out, hovering the drinks over the heads of various patrons as I walked (I'd learned that trick the second day I worked there- much better than attempting to balance a full tray). "Butterbeer, butterbeer, firewhiskey, gillyweed tea," I said, placing the drinks in front of their respective owners.

"Thanks," Remus murmured, and the others- having apparently been reminded of general manners- echoed.

"No problem. You ready to order, or do you need a bit more time?" This was something else I'd learned in the first few days. If you don't constantly remind some people to figure out what they're ordering, they _never will_.

"A bit more time, doll," Sirius said, grinning cheekily.

I smiled sweetly. "Don't call me that. I have a right nasty bat-bogey hex I learned from a friend, and I am most certainly not afraid to use it." His smirk faltered, and the others seemed about to burst with laughter that a woman was resisting his charms this way. "I'll give you lot a few more minutes."

I paced back to the kitchen, and as soon as I was sure they could no longer see me, I collapsed into the wall, hands cradling my face. What was I going to do? The damn Marauders were at Hogwarts! I'd gone to an interview with Dumbledore, and had gotten my letter of acceptance of employment that very morning.

A teaching opportunity at Hogwarts was not something I was about to turn down, but I didn't know if I would be able to deal with seeing James and Lily on a daily basis, as well as refrain from hexing Sirius, if this kept up. I hadn't even thought about the Marauders being there... but of course, they were about to start their seventh year. I clasped my hands together. I couldn't change the situation, so I would have to adapt.

I straightened my posture a bit and twisted my fingers a bit. _Tonight, I'll tell Tom about Hogwarts_.

**Sirius POV**

"Damn, she is _fit_!" I said once the waitress was out of earshot. Her small, tight bum moved from side to side slightly as she walked in a most erotic manner. Her thick, curly hair burst in all directions. And she was witty, to boot. "What do you think her measurements are?"

"Sirius!" Remus hissed, "You don't just... it's not... oh, fuck it."

"Aw, you're defending her dignity or something. How cute. Does little Remy has a crush?" When his cheeks tinged pink, I guffawed. "You do! You really do!"

"Shut up," dear old Mooney muttered. "It's not like I can do anything about it."

"_Au contraire_, my friend," I murmured as the waitress- what was her name? Annette- made her way back to the table with a small pad of parchment clasped in her hands (which seemed a bit clammy). I grinned waspishly, and he paled considerably.

"Whatever you're thinking of doing, I recommend you don't," he whispered.

"Oh, you're no fun," I pouted. James and Peter kept to themselves, snickering.

"You boys decided?" Annette asked when she arrived at the table, quill poised to write.

"I think we'll all just be sharing a bottomless basket of tortilla chips with mango salsa," James said, "and that spicy stuff- you know, the kind with fourteen types of peppers or something."

She nodded, seeming to know what he was talking about. I lost track of what she was saying, focusing intently on her nose. It turned up a bit at the end- just enough to be cute, but not so much she looked like a pig.

**Hermione POV **

"You know the bottomless baskets aren't really bottomless, right?" I asked. James looked surprised, and I couldn't blame him. "Bit of a misleading name, but that's marketing for you. They actually only hold six servings each, so for you all, I'd suggest getting two."

"Are you implying I have a little extra weight to carry?" Sirius asked, popping out of his trance.

"Of course not," I said easily. "I mean, it's nothing but 'muscle,' right?" Remus grinned, and James burst out laughing. Peter smiled uneasily in his corner. Sirius frowned. "Oh, now I've upset you. I'll be right back out with the chips and salsas."

The rest of the Marauders' lunch visit was uneventful- or as uneventful as something with those four involved could possibly be- until the very end. Right after they had each thrown down a few Sickles in payment, plus a Galleon from someone as a tip (which was greatly appreciated), they started to exit through the back door into Diagon Alley. As I watched from the corner of my eye, they stopped. Remus was pushed away and towards me by the others, who remained still. Remus awkwardly made his way to me.

**Remus POV**

What if she doesn't like me? What if she thinks I'm a moron? What if she likes Sirius? All sorts of insane thoughts and what-ifs were running through my mind as I approached Annette. _Annette_... what a nice name. I took a deep breath. She was pretending not to notice me as she bent over and wiped tables, but call it body language or wolves' intuition, I knew she was aware I was near.

"Erm," I stuttered, and she jumped up, relieving me of my view of her bum. "I'm Remus Lupin. I was just wondering whether you'd like to come walk down Diagon Alley with me, you know, when your shift ends today?"

**Hermione POV**

I tried to think of a way to let him down gently. I was going to be his professor in a month (I'd gotten my letter informing me I'd been hired to teach Defense the day before, and was planning on telling Tom that night). It wouldn't be right to start a relationship. Plus, if I did get back to my time, what would the future Remus think of me, knowing that I full well knew who-

I was cut off by my own voice saying, uncertainly, "Sure." Well, shit.

**Remus POV**

I was elated.

"When do you get off?"

"Oh, uhm, about four-thirty."

"So, maybe, see you at five?"

She smiled. "Sounds great."

**A/N: AAHHHHH! I'm super, super sorry I haven't been updating. If it helps, I have it all pretty much scripted out- I just need to set aside time to type it all up and get the syntax and word choice right. I can't count how many times I've rewritten a few of these paragraphs because I'm incapable of making the damn words work properly together.**

**Anyways, hope you enjoyed. I had writers' block, so I worked on this. For an hour and a half. :/ **


	4. Well, Crap

**A/N: You'll probably get this chapter at the same time as the last one. I'm sorry I don't have a lot of time on my hands to upload, what with homework and attempting to update _all_ my stories- which, by the way, is soo not working. Another time take-er-up-er is the fact that I'm starting an animal rights club at my school. I have ten people signed up so far, and it's pretty epic. We had our first meeting today, and now we just have to get organized (oh, and figure out how to get people to shut up during meetings- any suggestions?). Thanks for being so patient with me! (Or at least acting like it!)**

**Remus POV, future**

"Sirius," I said quietly. The man in question looked up from his newspaper, which I knew he wasn't reading; he'd been staring at the same word for the past few minutes. "Do you think she'll be all right?"

"I think she'll be fine, Remus," Sirius said warmly. "We can't do anything but wait for her."

"But it's been three weeks! It's already July! What if it takes her years to get back? What if she-"

"Remus," Sirius snapped, and glared. I closed my mouth. "Do you think you're the only one that's worried? Because you're not. Snape came and asked me if this was it- apparently she told him, too. He hadn't completely believed it all until now. This cinches it. He's concerned for her, too. He might have hated her as Hermione, but as Professor Mayer, she's his friend. He respects her, and he wants her safe just as much as we do."

"You're right," I said, and leaned my head against the wall. It made a loud _thump_.

**Hermione POV**

"What the hell was I thinking?" I said loudly, digging through my small supply of clothing, trying to figure out what would be appropriate for my date in _fifteen minutes_. I rummaged through the tiny drawers, finally finding the worn pair of jeans I'd been searching for. They were a light wash, bell bottoms. I'd found them in the laundry and since no one had claimed them after three days (I suppose someone had stayed overnight and left their pants behind?), I'd taken them and resized them. That was actually how most of my attire had been attained.

I added a tee, jacket, and makeup and decided I was ready to go.

I slipped downstairs and out the door leading into Diagon Alley. Leaning against the side of the building, I lit a cigarette. The smell of the smoke calmed me down enough that when Remus _finally_ arrived- early- I was only a bit nervous, rather than facing off with a veritable fields' worth of butterflies.

He smiled and said, "Let's go." I nodded and threw down the butt, crushing it with the heel of my shoes.

We shuffled along, both of us looking down, with our hands in our pockets, until suddenly, he stopped and pointed at a store off to the side. "Have you ever been in there?" It was Zonko's. I shook my head, and it was the truth; this store in particular had been torn down before I'd even figured out magic was real.

"You want to?" Remus asked tentatively, eyes lighting up.

I grinned, grabbed his hand (_woah, now, where'd that come from?)_ and crossed the street. Remus seemed just as surprised as I did about the hand-grabbing, but he seemed comfortable enough.

I vaguely remembered a time when Harry, Ron, and I had interrogated Remus about his love life. All he would tell us was that when he was younger- _"Before you kids were born- wow, I sound like an old man,"_- a girl he'd dated had given him a high appreciation for holding hands. I hoped I wasn't that girl.

As we wandered around the shop, trying out this and prodding that, our conversation began to steer towards school. I blushed when he asked me where I attended, because he'd never seen me around before.

I gave him the story Dumbledore (who was quite aware of my status as a time traveler) and I had agreed on. "I went to a smaller, specialized school, actually. Focused on defense."

"Oh!" Remus said, interest peaking. "What year are you?" He'd apparently missed the past tense.

"I, er, I actually... Remus, I have something to..." I sighed. "Dammit. I guess I'll just say it." His eyebrows knit together as he watched me perform what was probably a very interesting monologue. "I don't think we can date each other. I'm going to be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts this upcoming year."

His expression was blank. "Oh."

I frowned, blushed, and blinked back those pesky involuntary tears, all at the same time. "I'm really sorry. I didn't realize..." _Liar. Liar, liar, liar._

"No, I mean, it's all right."

I gave a weak smile. "If it means anything, I think you're a great person. You're intelligent, and that's more than a lot of people are able to say about themselves."

"Thanks. I guess I'll see you in school, then, Professor-?" Remus paused, realizing, I suppose, that he had no idea what my surname was.

"Mayer," I supplied. Dumbledore had also helped me come up with that. Until then, it had simply been Annette. I smiled gently. "See you in class, Remus."

As I watched him go, I felt terrible for even accepting this date. Why? Well, for one, I could see quite clearly that he was very hurt. This upset me greatly and that fact in turn upset me. My little schoolgirl crush on Professor Lupin was beginning to turn into quite the socially unacceptable little mishap, indeed.

**Remus POV**

I should have known. She looked older than school age. She acted older than school age. So why didn't I even pick up on that? And why didn't Sirius warn me? He knew. He had to have known.

Sirius probably didn't know that she was our future professor. Dammit.

I found him and James at Fortescue's, gorging themselves on ice cream. Peter had already gone home, it would seem. I bought a cone for myself and settled next to Sirius on a bench next to an umbrella.

"Date not go well?" James asked, genuinely interested. Since he only had one focus when it came to his love life- which greatly concerned and entertained the rest of us- he was always prying into ours.

I shook my head.

"Well, what happened?" Sirius demanded. Always the studious one when it came to women. He liked to know what made them tic, what gave them pleasure, what they didn't really even care about.

"She's going to be our new DADA professor." Their eyes widened. "Do you know how illegal it would be for her to even _consider_ a relationship with me? Not that Professor Dumbledore would probably care. Barmy old man would probably-"

"Sorry, Remy," Sirius interrupted. "This one's my fault."

**Harry POV**

I straightened in my chair, putting down my broomstick (I'd been polishing it and checking for splinters). I'd figured it out. Where Hermione had gone.

She'd time traveled.

**Ron POV**

I sat up in bed. I'd finally figured it out! Where Hermione was!

She'd run off with another man, the little bitch.

**Remus POV**

I flipped through the pages of the book, barely paying attention to the words, and certainly not comphrending a thing. I couldn't stop remembering that first day with Hermione, and though I'd been trying to distract myself all day, sitting in the dining room at the Burrow reading the same books I'd been reading for weeks was not helping.

I was provided with a quick distraction when Harry and Ron burst through the door at the same time, panting and looking as though they had seen

"I figured out what happened to Hermione!" they said simultaneously. I smiled uneasily.

"And what would that be?"

Harry looked at Ron. "You can say it."

Ron shrugged. "All right. She's run off with some other man. She was cheating on me," he said firmly. A surge of rage rushed through my veins, but before I could even open my mouth to retort, Harry went off on him.

"How can you say that about Hermione? She isn't that kind of a person, Ron, and you know it."

"How do you know?" Ron spat. "You're always off feeding your little hero complex, too busy to pay any attention to any of us!"

Harry surged forward, punching Ron square in the nose with a force that threw him back, off his feet. I let him fall, but had enough sense to restrain Harry as he attempted to pounce on his best friend.

"Harry-"

"Shut up Remus," Ron said from the floor, holding his nose in an attempt to staunch the bleeding.

It was with great effort that I refrained from kicking the boy's head in, and instead dragged them both by the arm downstairs in order to get them to settle down.

**Harry POV**

"What in Merlin's name possessed you to _punch_ him?" Mrs. Weasley yelled. She'd been ranting about how Ron's and my actions were completely out of line for the past ten minutes, and had just now decided that it may be reasonable to actually find out why the fight had happened.

"I don't think he wants you to know that," I said stiffly. I could see Ron roll his eyes across the room.

"That's exactly what I was talking about. Always trying to protect people that don't need to be protected, aren't you? Just tell her. She'll probably agree with me."

I frowned. _You might _need_ protection once your mum finds out._ "He said that Hermione was off cheating on him. I told him she wasn't that kind of person, and the fight sort of progressed from there."

"You _what_, Ronald?!" Again, I grimaced. This was going to be a long night.


	5. In Which Unpleasantness Takes the Throne

**Consolations**

**A/N: I'm so sorry I haven't updated! My computer- it's broked! It breaked! And it isn't *sob* fair that I have to use *sob* the piece of crap in the *sobsobsob* **_**living room**_**! This is blasphemy! Anyways. Thanks for the kind reviews/alerts.**

**Hermione POV**

I watched the students file into the classroom. My third class of the day- the one I'd been dreading every day since I received my schedule- had arrived. Seventh year Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs.

"No need to choose a seat right now," I said. It didn't seem like anyone had heard me, so I repeated myself, this time standing on top of my (hopefully very strong) desk. They looked up. "I know you all hate this," I said, jumping back down, "but I'd like you to sit in alphabetical order for the first week, just so I can figure out your names. After that, you can all sit wherever you'd like. Everyone is in here, right?"

I glanced around, counted twenty students. "Perfect. Here we go." I gestured to the first seat of the row to the far left. "Black." Sirius lugged his things to the desk and made a great deal of setting himself up. "Bunning," I said, placing a hand on the desk directly behind him. A Gryffindor girl approached, looking quite content to be sitting behind Sirius. "Carter." The Hufflepuff boy looked less delighted. I continued assigning the seats until I finished with the last three: "Courtney Warren. Oliver Warren. Yarborough."

The last few students settled into their seats as I sat on my own desk, surveying the damage. There was one group of giggly Gryffindor girls I could see perhaps having to separate later, but I let it go for now. I winced. Remus was front and center.

"Thanks for cooperating with me on that. Welcome to what will hopefully be your final year of Defense Against the Dark Arts. I'm Annette Mayer, and you can call me Annette, Professor Mayer, Professor Annette, teacher lady, whatever. Before I start handing out the syllabus-" oh, yes, I was organized ahead of time- "is there anything in particular you guys would like to know about me?"

Several hands flew up. "Yes, er, George?" I said, glancing at the seating chart.

"How old are you?"

"For the record, George, you should _never_ ask a lady her age. She'll probably lie. However, since I'm not old and crumbling yet, I'll tell you the truth. Twenty-two. How about you, Lindsay?"

"Are you married?"

I practically laughed out loud. "No, I'm not. Sirius?"

"Why was that funny?"

"Someone once told me that out of all the women he'd ever met, I was probably the least likely to ever marry, and I think he may have been right. Edward?"

"Where did you go to school?"

"I went to a smaller school in North Ireland. Specialized in Defense. Megan?"

"Why did you decide to teach?"

"I love helping others learn. I love being around people your age. And, quite frankly, I heard the food here is amazing. So far, it's been true." A murmur of agreement rippled throughout the entire room. "Anything else? No? All right, then." I grabbed the stacks of paper from the other side of my desk and got them to float to each student. Each stack consisted of a syllabus, a complete listing of the homework assignments, and a general safety disclaimer. "And another thing I know we all hate but that is- unfortunately- necessary: I have to brief you all on the rules." The class groaned. "_But_ I think I can make this more interesting. I'll ask you a question, you tell me the answer. You get extra credit points in participation for each answer. And I'll have you know, participation counts for a _lot_ in this class. Got it?" A few nodded.

"All right, here's an easy one: when should you bring your textbook?" Hands flew into the air. I smiled. "Daniel."

"Every day."

"Correct!" I made a tick by his name in the grade book. "What will happen if you don't bring your textbook?" Fewer hands were raised, but it was still a substantial amount. "Remus?"

"Detention?"

"Good." Another small tick in the book. "How many points will be taken away for each detention I have to give you?" Sirius raised his hand confidently. _He would know_. "Sirius, you think you know?"

"Ten, unless it's a zero-tolerance rule."

I smiled. "Right." Another tick. "Give me an example of a zero-tolerance rule. Megan."

"Possession of a dark artifact."

"Correct. Another example? All right Courtney, go for it."

"Performing an Unforgivable Curse?"

I smiled. "Yes, I'd say that's _definitely_ one that'll get you more than ten points taken off. I think that's about it on rules, guys and girls." I flipped through the copy of the rules I had on my desk (for this very reason), and was glad to see I was right. "Now, let's do a little review. Three Unforgivables, who can name one? Let's see what you've got, Oliver."

"Cruciatus?"

"And what does it do?"

"It… tortures people."

"Perfect. Think you know one, Amber?"

"Imperius."

"Yes, yes. And it does what?"

"Oh, right. It allows the caster complete and utter control over the person they've cast it on."

"In general, yes. There are, surprisingly, people who can completely throw off the curse by pure pigheaded determination. One of my friends is capable of doing that- I must confess, I've never been able to achieve it. Anyways. Last one?" No hands were raised. I pursed my lips. I'd been expecting this. It was eerily similar to my fourth year- about half the room seemed to be uneasily squirming in their seats, so I knew at least some of them knew of the curse. Hopefully, all of them knew, really. This was, in actuality, third year knowledge (my Defense learning was surprisingly out of order).

Slowly, a hand rose in the back. I checked the seating chart out of the corner of my eye. "McDonald, you think you have it?"

"Av- Avada K- Kedavra. It- it's the killing curse."

"Good job. Ten points to Hufflepuff, five to Gryffindor. Can anyone tell me some physical characteristics that can help to distinguish a normal wolf from a werewolf?" I saw James and Sirius both surreptitiously glance at Remus, who just sighed quietly.

James shot his hand up. "Tufted tail," he said, without bothering to wait for me to call on him. That grin was slightly annoying.

"Correct. Three points to Gryffindor."

"Why not five? They all got five!"

"Two points got taken off because you were too obnoxious to even let me call on you, Potter." Lily was fighting a smile. "Evans, do you another characteristic?"

"The shape of the pupils of the eyes."

"Wonderful," I said, nodding my head. These were fifth-year questions; I was glad to know that they knew these. "Five points to Gryffindor. Anyone know _another_ one?"

Remus raised his hand. "Lupin." It felt odd on my tongue. I was so used to saying Remus; it didn't feel right.

"The, er," he said hesitantly, "the snout shape?"

"Good job. Five points to Gryffindor." I glanced at the clock. Twenty-five minutes left. This review hadn't taken nearly as long as I'd planned. "Oh, Merlin. I don't want to ask you lot too many questions; there's a diagnostic test-" did I mention I was _really_ prepared? - "I want you to take tomorrow. I suppose we could go ahead and start on it, but I wouldn't want your concentration to be messed up. What do you think? Am I right?" I nodded my head up and down exaggeratedly, hoping they'd get the message. "You guys would just _hate_ to lose concentration on something so important, right? So do you think we should wait to start until tomorrow?"

There was a general murmur about the room of, "Right," and "Of course!"

I smiled. I liked this class. Right quick, they were. "All right, if that's what you really want, that's what we'll do. Just so you know, the test will consist of various first- through sixth-year skills. It will be seventy-two questions long, with twelve questions from each year you've taken this class so far. I expect everyone to get at least sixty-seven of the questions correct." A few faces fell. "If there is even one person who doesn't score high enough, you will all re-take it until every single one of you meets the requirements." Some students raised their eyebrows at this news. "I know it sounds tedious, but look on the bright side: if you score well from the start, it's just extra padding for your grade. Any questions?" There were no questions. "Are you sure?" They were sure. "Perfect. Okay, really quick! This is something I was planning on asking later this week. Would you rather me call you by first or last name?"

"First!" was the overbearing answer I received.

"Okay, great, I'll call you by first. You may sit, you may talk, you may visit until the bell rings. Feel free to move around, but I would like everyone in a seat. If you do decide you have any questions, just come up and ask me."

I was left in solitude for a few moments, until (finally) someone approached my desk. I looked up and met the eyes of none other than Peter Pettigrew. "Yes, Peter?"

"Do you have any, uh, studying tips for the test? I'm not really good in Defense, and Professor Dumbledore said if I don't start trying harder this year to get my grades up, I might not be able to graduate."

I bit my lip. What was I supposed to do _here_? "Well, I heard from Professor Young-" Young was the Defense teacher who, after a rather Hellish year filled with unexcused boils and rashes, decided to "retire," insisting he was allergic to Hogwarts- "that you're good friends with Sirius, James, and Remus. Is that correct?" Peter nodded. "Well, judging by their marks in this class, they're all quite capable. Have you tried asking them for help?"

"Well, sort of. I mean, it's kind of hard to just go, 'Hey, tutor me.'"

I grimaced. Why he was in Gryffindor, I wasn't sure. I had to agree with a sentiment Harry had once attributed to Dumbledore- perhaps students shouldn't be Sorted quite as early as they are. "Stand right there. Remus!" I called. The werewolf in question spun around in his desk to face front (he'd been talking animatedly with James and Sirius).

"Yes?"

"Come here for a second." He obliged.

"Yes?"

So monosyllabic toward me. "Would you mind tutoring Peter here for, say, a half hour two or three evenings a week? I would much appreciate it."

"Sure." Remus turned to his friend. "When do you want to do this, Peter?"

"Er, is Tuesdays and Thursdays okay with you?"

"Six o'clock in the library alright?"

"I guess, yeah."

"Great."

"Thanks, Remus," I said, bowing my head and returning to my lesson plans for the next two weeks (I was proofreading them a third and final time before sending them to Dumbledore for approval- damn Ministry policies, thank Merlin they were no longer in effect by the time _I_ went to school, or the teachers would have been even more stressed).

There was a pause. "No problem."

"Thanks, Annette," Peter said, trailing to his seat behind Remus.

I raised my head, watching the two boys go. "No problem," I whispered.

**A/N: Poor Ann- I mean, eh, Hermione. She's already feeling a bit hurt, and the first class isn't even over yet. Her sit, talk, and visit line is stolen straight from my Theatre teacher. Here's a shout-out to Ms. De! I'm out of school early for the summer (flood damage- the school board's decided to just chuck the whole thing out and cancel exams since we're in a national emergency), but I'm working at an office as receptionist sometimes. Expect updates of only slightly more regularity than has been displayed over the prior months. Thanks for all the reviews- they mean so much to me! An alert is nice, but reviews can tell me up to 10,000 characters. I love 'em. And I love **_**you**_**.**


	6. In Which The Author Lampshades Things

**Consolations**

**A/N: I don't remember how I did the POVs in multiple times. I'm not on my own computer, so I can't just look through old chapters. I don't have any internet access here, so I can't look online. If it's in the 70s, I'll put 'PAST' right after 'POV.' If it isn't, then I won't add anything. If it says 'Annette,' it's the 70s. Mmk? Mmk. **

**Remus POV**

I now fully understood the meaning of "deafening silence." The eerie quietness of the Burrow was pounding at my ears. Dinner last night was awkward; Ron and Harry were giving each other death glares from opposite ends of the table, and everyone in between was trying to distract the one closest to them.

I, fortunately, managed to sit to Harry's left, the furthest seat from Ron (equidistant on both sides). Conversation was slow from the start, and continued to ebb as dinner wore on. Every now and then, a discussion would start, but it would fade out just as quickly as it had begun.

"So, do you think you're going to go into Auror training when it starts in July, Harry?" Tonks asked. "I think you'd make a great Auror."

"I dunno," replied Harry sullenly. "I've never had a chance to look beyond defeating Voldemort. I guess I kind of expected to die trying."

Nobody would know what to say to this. Conversation would stop. And then:

"How about you, Ron?" asked Sirius. "You maybe get into Quidditch?"

"I'm not good enough. 'Sides, I want to be an Auror."

"Oh. Well, I think you could do that, too."

Sirius was never the most tactful person; this was painfully obvious to all present by this point. _Damn you, Sirius,_ I thought. _Just keep your mouth shut._

**Remus POV, PAST**

"So, Mooney, when's the full moon this month?" Sirius asked eagerly.

"Week from yesterday. Oh, shite!"

"What's wrong?" asked James, startled.

"I'm supposed to be in the library in three minutes," I said, gathering my Defense notes from the year before (yes, I kept them!) and my textbook and shoving them into my bag.

"Who you meetin'?" Sirius pried.

"Oo-oh, is it a study date with Annette?" James asked.

"Look. One, I am meeting Peter. I'm supposed to tutor him so he has a flying fuck's chance at passing the Defense test tomorrow. Two, Annette is not gorgeous. Nor is she funny, intelligent, or desirable in any way, shape or form. She is my professor, and I am her student. That's all I am." With that, I exited the dorm and slammed the door behind me. Who the hell was I kidding? She was all of the above.

**James POV**

Sirius turned to me the second Remus left. "Who the bloody hell does he think he's kidding?" His eyebrows were raised ridiculously high.

"He's a moron."

"We need to get them together."

"First, we need to finish polishing this prank up."

"Right you are."

**Annette POV**

I jumped at the sound of knocking on my office door. "Oh, dear Merlin." I vaguely wondered which student was approaching me for cramming advice _now_. Probably fifteen had come knocking shortly after dinner.

Another quick series of knocks. "Coming!" I forced my cramping legs to lift me up and out of my chair and stride across the room to pull open the door. It was James and Sirius, of all the people in the school.

"Yes?"

"How do you feel about Remus?" Sirius asked, ever the blunt one. James hit him upside the head. "Oi! What was that for?"

"Boys."

"You couldn't have been more obvious about it?"

"Boys."

"Well, I don't want to stand here all night!" Sirius replied haughtily.

"_Boys_!" They both returned their hands to their sides and looked at me with surprise. I obviously hadn't displayed enough of my harsh teacher side earlier. "Why does it matter to you how I feel toward Remus? He's my student. Nothing more," I added with attempted nonchalance, "and nothing less."

"Oh, come on. You can tell us the truth," James said earnestly. "We won't tell. Merlin knows we break enough rules, we'd be total hypocrites if we did."

"I mean, even jackasses like us have standards," Sirius said seriously. "Uh, I am allowed to say 'jackasses,' aren't I?"

"No, you're not. That's your warning. Next time, you get a detention and ten points taken off, so watch it." I took a deep breath. "You really want to know my feelings when it comes to Remus?"

"Well, yeah," James said. "It's kind of why we came."

Sirius elbowed him. "Don't be a jackass. Oh, shit!"

"It's all right, Sirius," I said. "It was for a good cause." He grinned. "I think Remus is incredibly intelligent. He's funny. He's witty and sarcastic and it makes me happy when he's happy. It's like… like I knew him in a past life, the way I felt a connection with him. Like I already knew him." Ha! This was very, very true. "Oh, and he's attractive. Now, is that all you wanted to know?"

"Attractive, like, sexual? Or just desirable?" Sirius asked, leaning forward.

James put his hands over his ears. "La, la, la, la, la, I don't want to hear this. I can't hear you! I can't _hear you_."

I laughed out loud. "Is he always like this?" James was the only Marauder I hadn't met in his adulthood. I decided then and there that I needed to come up with a plan that wouldn't change the future to the extent that I wouldn't make this decision (creating a time paradox was most certainly not near the top of my to-do list), but would still ensure that he and Lily lived. As if that would be possible.

He had his own sets of quirks, I could already tell. One minute James was your average straight-O Hogwarts student, and then something would set him off and he would become the most immature (and entertaining) seventeen-year-old boy I'd ever met. Besides, perhaps, the entity of Fred and George. He was probably on par with those two.

Sirius glanced at him from the corner of his eye. "If you're asking if he's always this big of an idiot, then yes. Yes, he is."

"Hey!" said James, removing his hands from his ears. "I heard that!"

Oh, Merlin. This was going in a direction I most certainly did not want it to. I regretted telling them anything at all. Why was I being so impulsive? This wasn't like me. Going on a date with Remus, telling (of all the people to tell!) half the Marauders how I feel about Remus. I wasn't like this in my own time!

"Well," Sirius said, jerking me from my internal soliloquy, "we should get going. I mean, good students like us have to get back to their dorms on time so they don't get detentions they don't deserve."

"Right." I snorted. "Sirius, I've seen your record." When James started to chuckle, I added, "Yours too."

He blanched. "Oh."

"Now, shoo. Go on. The door's that way." When the pair finally left, I shut the door softly and leaned onto it. "What have I done?"

**James POV, PAST**

"Wait," Sirius said, putting his arm in front of me.

"Come on, you mutt." I tried to move his arm, but he didn't budge.

"What is that? Do you hear that?" He put his ear to the door of Annette's office. "I think she's crying."

"You're full of it. Let's _go_."

"No, I'm serious. Here, listen." Sirius pushed me toward the other side of the door, and I reluctantly placed my ear at the crack. Sure enough, I could hear little sobs coming from the other side.

"Dammit, Hermione, what have you gotten yourself into?" Annette said. Hermione? Who was Hermione? Judging by Sirius's expression, he was wondering the same thing. I started to ask him what he thought, but he put a finger to his lips. We kept listening.

"What the hell was I thinking? Trusting those two." Now that was hurtful. "Like it could ever even happen, anyways. There are laws. And rules." Two things the Marauders generally don't care for. "Not to mention that it's completely socially unacceptable, a teacher dating a student." Oh, Merlin. _That_ was not a good enough reason. "Then again, he being a werewolf isn't really socially acceptable, but Merlin knows none of us give a damn." How did she know he was- and what was this "us?"

Sirius looked wildly from me, to the door, back to me, and started mouthing _Holy oh-my-Merlin!_ and pointing at the door.

_I know_, I mouthed back. _I can hear, genius._

_What? _was his reply. I shook my head.

**Sirius POV**

"So she time-traveled, right?" asked Harry. Remus and I had been evenly keeping away from him, avoiding this very question.

"Who?" I asked, playing dumb.

"Oh, come on, Sirius. You know who I'm talking about. You aren't _that_ stupid. As far as I know." What was with his generation and making fun of me?

I grimaced. "Yes, she did."

"What happened? She's okay, isn't she?"

"When she left Hogwarts, she was fine. She left right in front of us."

"Who's 'us?'"

"Me, Rem- well, the Marauders and Lily."

"Oh. Did she get along with my parents?" Harry asked, taking a seat (well, more like falling into the seat- he looked exhausted) on the armchair across from me.

"Oh, pretty well," I said, chuckling. "Lily was probably the leader of her fan club, and James… well, James and I just liked picking on An- Hermione."

"Her fan club? What did she _do_?"

"She taught us Defense Against the Dark Arts in our seventh year. Hermione's really an amazing teacher. It was always funny when she'd try to put me and James in detention. She'd always decide that evening when we got there that she didn't want to deal with us for a whole extra hour, and she'd send us back."

"She was your professor?" Harry's eyes were wide.

"Do you only ever catch onto the first half of what I say?"

**A/N: Annette's monologues (internal and spoken) this chapter are prime examples of what call "lampshading." LOL. Anyways, I really appreciate all your kind reviews. They mean a ton to me. If you really like the fic, tell me why you like it so I can keep doing it! You have up to 10,000 characters to do so. Oh, and shout-out to ****CeliaEquus**** for making me giggle.**


	7. In Which Remus Has an Epiphany, Dammit

Consolations

**A/N: I'm having issues writing because every now and then my cat will decide to come sit on my keyboard, resulting in difficulty with typing.**

**Sirius POV, PAST**

"Let's go get breakfast, Pads," James muttered. "No use waiting for them to get up," he added, gesturing toward our still-sleeping fellow Marauders, "they were up all night studying. They'll probably sleep in until Mooney's nerd intuition tells him it's time for Charms."

"Whatever you say." As we left for breakfast, I made sure to be quiet about getting dressed. The week before his transformations was when Remus was most irritable, and I (and everyone else in the general vicinity) did not want to deal with an irritable, sleep-deprived Mooney.

It's like wolfie PMS. His hormones start raging, and… it's just ugly when he gets really pissed off during that week. He also swears more and (much to the ever-mature amusement of James, Peter, and I) flirts more.

We slid quietly out the dormitory door and through the Common Room, out into the open tower. "I bet five Galleons I can beat you running down these stairs," James said.

"Bring it!"

**James POV, PAST**

Sirius should really know better than to race me _down_ stairs. Maybe up some stairs, but really? He thinks he can beat me running down stairs? Like his fat ass has a chance. On the bright side, his hard-earned Galleons were going toward a charitable cause (the Help James Get Rich Foundation).

When we got to the Great Hall, he grudgingly handed over the gold coins. I took a seat across from Lily, but she immediately stood up and moved with her plate and friend to the other end of the table. _She wants me_. Suddenly, Sirius nudged me and nodded his head toward the staff table.

"Annette looks like Hell." Sure enough, when I finally found her (I had to scan the table twice- I didn't recognize her the first time), she definitely didn't look like she was having a great morning. Her hair was frizzy, pulled back into a messy (and not in the sexy way) bun. She didn't seem to be wearing any makeup, and she had on brown shoes with black robes. I winced a little. (Yes, I notice these things. And they hurt me. I'm still manly.)

"Wonder how much sleep she got."

"About as much as Mooney and Wormtail, I'd guess." Judging by the fact that she kept threatening to doze off into her food, I'd say Sirius was a good guesser.

"Okay, here's the plan. We Stun her. We drag her into her office. We dress her right and fix her hair and makeup. I know how to do those things," I added confidently.

Sirius snorted. "Are you sure you don't like men?"

"Positive," I replied, rolling my eyes.

**Annette POV**

I needed rehab. Or at least some sleep. I'd spent the entire night worrying about Remus, both as a person I took an interest in(why did he have to be so short with me- and why did he have to be so damn perfect?) and as a werewolf (the full moon was in only five days, which meant Remus was going to be in his irritable phase).

After honestly trying to eat, I decided to head back to my rooms to force myself to "get my lady on," (put on makeup, make my hair look right, make sure my clothing matches decently, etc.) as the Sirius of the future had once so eloquently put it.

I saw a few heads turn as I stepped down from the staff table, and it wasn't in the good way. I quickly exited through the main door, only to run straight into- oh, I'm choking on the irony!- Remus Lupin. I muttered a quick apology, but he grabbed my arm and practically dragged me over to the farthest side of the chamber, in a tapestry alcove.

"What's wrong?" he asked, seemingly genuinely concerned. His eyes were dark. I was right in that it was nearing that time of the month. He had bags under his eyes, though I assumed those were from staying up too late helping Peter study for my test.

"Nothing's wrong. I'm fine."

"I can tell. Something's wrong."

"I'm just tired," I said with a fake smile. It wasn't lying; I was just leaving out part of the truth- that was very different, indeed. "Did you study for the test?" He released his hold on my arm; I hadn't realized he hadn't let go.

"Does it look like I studied for the test?"

"Until about five hours ago."

"What time is it?"

I glanced at my watch. "Eight forty-five."

"Until four hours ago."

"You really shouldn't be up that late on a Tuesday. Or that early, on a Wednesday."

"I'll be fine, really. I'm taking a wake-up potion after breakfast," he said, pulling a small vial out of his pocket and shaking it. Bubbles rose from the bottom. "Besides, you look like you got about the same amount of sleep as I did. No offense," he added quickly, his ears red.

I smiled. "None taken. I didn't get much sleep either, to be honest. Guess I was a bit hypocritical. I'll have to dig out _my_ bottle of wake-up potion."

"They should really just start putting it on the supplies list for third-years and up. And for teachers, too, apparently," said Remus, grinning.

"I'll have to suggest it to Professor Dumbledore. You'd better get to breakfast, though. I'll see you this afternoon."

He nodded. "See you."

**Remus POV, PAST**

As Annette walked away, I vaguely wondered where she was going. Hadn't she just told me to go to breakfast? _She's being hypocritical again,_ I thought with a frown. I wandered into the Great Hall and quickly found where James and Sirius were seated. I slid into the seat across from Sirius and, without greeting, piled chocolate muffin after chocolate muffin onto my plate.

"How are you this lovely morning?" Sirius asked tentatively.

"I'm fine." My mind wandered to Annette. The way her hair was beginning to fall out of the bun and into her face. The way she stood, crossing and uncrossing her legs. It was oddly becoming. She was only a bit shorter than myself, with a small figure. She didn't have much curve, but she was still pretty. A few sparse freckles adorned her nose, which was slightly upturned (but not so much so to look like a pig's snout).

**Sirius POV**

"Remus was desperately in love with Annette." Harry's jaw dropped.

"You mean, like, Remus had a thing for Hermione?"

"Oh, it was more than a thing. He wouldn't ever shut up about her; 'Oh, Annette's so beautiful. She's so witty. Annette's so funny.' I swear to Merlin, we all thought Mooney was going to be another James."

"I was _not_ that bad!" Remus said from the doorway. He collapsed next to Harry on the couch. "I was smitten, it's true, but I was nowhere near the James level."

"Oh, please. You proposed to her the second we graduated!"

"He what?"

"I proposed to her, Harry."

A pause. "What did she say?"

**Annette POV**

Mascara. Eyeliner. Lipstick. _Done with makeup_. I decided to change my outfit, seeing as, at the moment, I was wearing brown Italian shoes with a pleated black set of robes. I switched out for a Muggle outfit. It would do the students good, I decided, to be exposed to what Muggle clothing should actually look like when properly matched. After all, I didn't want them all to end up like that poor man at the Quidditch Cup, parading about in pajamas of the opposite gender and green pinstripe pants. Not to mention this was _so_ much more comfortable.

With a flourish of the wand, my hair flew into a neat chignon. I triple-checked my makeup and shoved a bottle of some Muggle energy drink (I'd picked up a few bottles in London before I came to Hogwarts) into my bag to stick in my desk. I couldn't find my bottle of wake-up potion, so this would have to do.

I barely got to class on time; the bell rang a few short seconds after I perched myself on the edge of my desk, breathing hard, chest heaving. I took a few slow, deep breaths before addressing the class of second-years.

"Everyone ready for this? Remember, it's not a big grade, but it does affect what we'll focus on this year, so do your best; you don't want to learn something you already know, right?"

"Right," came the general chorus.

I walked around the room, setting a test on each desk. "The quiz-" it hardly qualified as a test, at twelve questions- "has four multiple choice questions, four fill-in-the-blank questions, and four matching questions. There are two extra credit questions at the end. I want you to write on the parchment I give you. I will warn you, each has an anti-cheating charm on it, so if you cheat, I will know."

The questions were pulled both from the first-year textbook and my memories of first year. Most were fairly easy things, like 'What herb is most known for repelling vampires?' Unfortunately, some of my memories couldn't be put to good use- most first-years hadn't had to fend off a troll with their two future best friends, for one.

"You may begin."

**James POV**

"Lily, don't you think we could just go ahead and go over there?"

"James Potter! An- Hermione said to wait until the twenty-sixth. Therefore, we are waiting until the twenty-sixth. I know this is difficult, but I really think we need to just wait."

I smiled. "Thank Merlin I have you."

"Yeah," she said nonchalantly, "you should be grateful." I grinned.

**Lily POV, PAST**

"James Potter! Get your _arse_ over here!" I called. We both had double Potions as our second class that day, so I could walk and talk to him at the same time.

He grinned at his friends and slowly sauntered over. "Yes, my lily flower?"

"I thought I told you to stop calling me that."

"You did."

"And…?"

"Not happening."

I felt a sudden urge to kill him. With strength, I ignored it. "We need to start working on the plan for the Graduation Ball."

"You go with me, I go with you. Done!" Potter turned to leave, but I grabbed his shoulder and spun him around.

"Look," I said, my tone harsh. "If you don't help me, there's not a chance I'll go with you. If you _do_ help me plan this thing, then there's at least a small chance that I'll lose my mind and decide to go with you. So what are you going to do?"

He smirked. "Let's get this planning thing started, shall we?"

"Wonderful."

**Remus POV, PAST**

"So, Remmy old boy," Sirius said as we watched James approach Lily. He said something that appeared to set her off, but she quickly calmed down again. "You going to admit you have a thing for Annette any time soon?" I flinched.

"No, because I don't."

"Yes, you do."

"No, I don't." I felt the wolf fighting to emerge and yell, but I held it down.

"No, you don't."

"Yes, I do."

"Aha!" Sirius exclaimed. Several heads turned. "Gotcha!"

"That doesn't count!"

"Sure, it does."

"Yes, it does," I said, grinning.

"It does not. Oh! I see what you did there. Damn you." And he'd completely forgotten that we had originally been talking about Annette. "But you still have a thing for Annette."

Or not. I groaned.

**Annette POV**

I didn't have a second class (thank Merlin), so I took a cat nap for the first twenty minutes of my free period. I took the last twenty-five minutes to go over and grade my second-years' quizzes. They had to get at least ten of the questions right, before extra credit, to pass. There were twenty students in that class, and all but three of them passed- those three had all gotten only nine correct.

This was definitely a good sign.

**A/N: I know, this chapter is kinda slow. And remember: if it didn't say PAST, it wasn't in the 70s. It has to say PAST after POV. I hope you're catching on, because I'm not gonna just point out which one I want you to realize isn't in the past (but if I **_**was**_** going to do such a thing, I would make sure you looked at the seventh POV). Thanks for the kind reviews; they mean **_**so much**_** to me!**


	8. In Which Severus is an Angsty Bitch

**Consolations**

**A/N: Here I am again! God, I love summer. So far I'm on a roll. I mean, day-umm. All these chapters in one week! That's a serious accomplishment for me, as any of my frequent readers know ;) Also, it's good to know most of you caught onto the whole "James isn't in the past" thing. And if you didn't, then a-**_**whoopsies**_**, I guess I did spell it out for you. Shee-yut. **

**Annette POV**

I watched the sixth-year students file out of the classroom. Their papers, at first glance, seemed to be in generally good shape. Unfortunately, seven of the twenty hadn't met the requirement of fifty-five correct answers.

For a few moments, I sat in silence. Then I realized I didn't have another class coming. Not yet, anyways- everyone was eating lunch. _Duh_.

**Remus POV, PAST**

I glanced at the staff table out of the corner of my eye. Annette wasn't there. Sirius made a raunchy joke, and I pretended to laugh along with the others. Annette still wasn't at the table. I was beginning to get a bit worried, and was about to leave the Great Hall and see if I could find her when I spotted her sneaking in. I breathed a sigh of relief. When Sirius followed my gaze and saw who I was watching, he smirked and nudged James, who took one look at me and just smiled.

"What?" I muttered. "Am I not allowed to worry?"

Probably deciding they didn't want to bring out the wolf (they could always tease me next week), James and Sirius stopped chuckling at me and went back to stuffing themselves.

I returned to subtly watching Annette. She looked much better than she had that morning; the energy drink must've worked wonders. She piled her plate up with food as she observed the Great Hall. I watched as she scanned over the tables silently, not bothering to make conversation with her colleagues. She started with the Slytherin table and slowly worked her way across the room.

When she reached the Gryffindor table, I tensed. Our eyes finally met, and I felt something like a spark in my stomach. She looked away quickly, blushing, and continued down the table. Thank Merlin the others didn't see this exchange (or if they did, they didn't acknowledge it).

**Annette POV**

I bit my lip, mentally berating myself for feeling this way. _You aren't supposed to fall for him, Hermione- that's not what you're here for_. I thought back to how Remus had treated me over the years. Was it any different than how he treated the other girls in school? Obviously he'd gotten to know me better than most of his other students, what with living in the same house for several summers.

Then again, that was years after I'd had him as a professor. The only other girl near my age that was ever around during those summers was Ginny, and since she was involved with Harry the entire time, that really left no one to compare his treatment of me to.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I'd had a crush on him in school. I had a thing for him later on, too, when we sat together, just reading, and when he brought me tea and comforted me before I got sent to the past. I had a feeling he had a thing for me, too, judging by some of the things he'd said, and the way he'd look at me sometimes. Now I was in the teacher position, and I had already admitted to myself that I felt something for the teenage Remus as well. Judging by the way Sirius and James had acted when they asked me about this, Remus was developing some feelings for me.

Why did all this have to happen? Why couldn't I have just been happy with Ron, and gotten married to him? _Because you wouldn't have _stayed _happy. He would never have been able to make you happy, and you damn well know that._

I stood up and walked out of the Great Hall. I felt eyes on my back as I left, but I didn't bother turning and seeing who was watching. I heard footsteps behind me, matching my pace. I entered my classroom and situated myself at the desk. A young man stepped into the room. At first, I didn't recognize him. He had black hair and dark eyes, and wore secondhand robes. When I met his eye, however, I realized who this student was.

"Hello. You are…?" I felt like I had to ask, as certain as I was. That and, well, it would be a bit odd if I knew his name before even meeting him.

"Severus Snape. I'm in your next class." I nodded. "I figured I might as well just come in here. I don't normally spend all my time in lunch, anyway. It's much quieter in here. Is that okay?" He was so timid, it broke my heart. Severus certainly wasn't what I had been expecting.

"Of course. If I'm ever not in here when you come back from lunch, just come on in. I trust you not to take anything or mess things up. Oh, don't set your things down yet- I have an assigned seat for you. You are… let me see… third row, second seat back." He pointed to a seat, and I nodded a confirmation. As he silently set his things down and settled into his seat, my mind was reeling in shock.

I'd been expecting the Severus I knew- mouthy, sarcastic, mean-spirited. Of course, I knew that deep down, Severus was a good person (everyone knew that in my time, after it came out all that he had done for the Light side), but he'd always been unfriendly. This was different.

He wasn't unfriendly. He just seemed friendless. I looked back up at Severus. He was reading a book whose title I could barely make out: _**The Potion Master's Guide to Success**_. Ah, so he ambitioned to be a potions master. How… interesting. I smiled and looked back down at my papers. We sat in silence for almost fifteen minutes, then, at last, other students began to file in. I told them which seat they were at as they came in. I recognized a few faces (Narcissa Black and Gregory Goyle, Sr.- though, of course, at this point he was simply Gregory Goyle) and more than a few surnames (Boot, Crabbe, and Lovegood, to name a couple). I called role and, thank Merlin, everyone was present. Just as with every other class, I could see some potential problem spots (Xeno Lovegood next to Gregory Goyle?), but I hoped I could learn their names quickly so as to separate them as soon as possible.

Just as I had with the other classes, I let them ask questions about me before we did anything else. I was shocked by the number of hands that went up. "Yes, Xenophilius?"

"Er, I go by Xeno. My question is, if a tree were to fall in the Forbidden Forest, and there was absolutely not a soul in the world near enough to hear it, would it still make a sound?"

I smiled. Typical Xeno, from what I'd picked up the few times I'd talked to him in my own time. He was a bit odd, and I had a feeling Luna got most of her odd beliefs from him. "I don't know; the answer largely depends on whether you believe the tree would even exist, were no one aware of it." He grinned. "Next question. Jameson?"

"What's your blood status?"

"I am Muggle-born. If anyone wants to make any comments about my blood status, they will find themselves in detention before you can say Mudblood." A few students gasped at my usage of the word, but I felt it had to be done. "Next… Narcissa?"

"Did you go to Hogwarts?"

"No. I went to a smaller school in Northern Ireland. It specializes in Defense. Severus?"

"Why do you like Defense?"

I had to think for a moment. Every class had asked me why I decided to teach, but nobody had asked why I _like_ the subject. "It's useful, and there's always more to learn. It requires a bit of logic, much like Potions, but it's more spell-based, which I like. It's actually not my biggest talent, but it's what I enjoy doing the most. Next question? Aariyah?" The rest of the questions were the same nonsense the other classes had asked me.

I couldn't help but wonder just how much more there was to that sallow young man than I'd ever bothered to realize.

**Severus POV, PAST**

Professor Mayer- or Annette, as she'd told us to call her- taught with her hands. She used them animatedly as she spoke, and handwrote things on the chalkboard behind her, whereas most professors would just wave their wand. If you closed your eyes and listened to her speak, it wouldn't be very impressive, but her gestures were part of her teaching style.

I liked the way Annette compared Defense to Potions. I could see the similarities, now that she had pointed them out. She reminded me a lot of Lily, the way she was able to sit in utter silence, with no pitiful attempts at conversation, then just dive in when it was time to talk again.

I drove my thoughts away from Lily. Lily hated me. Lily wanted nothing to do with me. I called her a Mudblood, and that was that was that.

**Lily POV**

"James!" I called. "James! Where the hell are you?"

"I'm in the den!" His voice was muffled. "Don't come in, I have a surprise!"

I sighed, making sure it was loud enough he could hear it. "Fine."

**Severus POV**

I looked in the mirror. Annette- well, Hermione- had seen that I was a good person. Po- Harry saw it now. Even Sirius Black had to admit that I was a good person (or at least not a bad one). So why couldn't I ever see that, not even now?

I hated Hermione from the moment I met her. I couldn't believe that this girl, this Gryffindor, know-it-all, walking encyclopedia _bitch_ was Annette. Unfortunately, the resemblance was too much to deny, even as early as her first year.

At last, about halfway through her second year, I got over my preconceived notions of the girl and pictured her as Annette in my mind. I wanted to nurture her magical abilities and be a mentor of sorts, but (of course) that wasn't at all possible. I was already tagged as Muggle-hating by this point, and it would be odd if I were to set this Muggle-born little girl aside for special treatment, not to mention that I absolutely abhorred her friends, and the Dark Lord would be quite murderous indeed if he found out I had a soft spot for this little Gryffindor.

So, I acted as if I hated her. I called her what I knew would hurt her; when I was in school, she'd told me about things people had said. I knew what would scare her, what would make her despise me. It was much better, for both of us, if she simply _stayed away_. And she did.

I had successfully cut off the only person still living, besides perhaps Dumbledore (and even his intent eventually became questionable), who would ever have a chance at understanding.

What I failed to realize for a long time was that she knew damn well who I was when she travelled into my seventh year. She undoubtedly remembered everything I did to her during her own school years. She could have chosen to make my last year of school miserable, a living hell. But she didn't.

I assumed it had something to do with this "good person" thing she kept telling me, which brought me right back to where I was, staring in the mirror, wondering how any sane person could ever believe me, Severus Snape, to be a good person.

**A/N: Awhh, Sevvy-poo is so angsty sometimes. Oh, well. He can GTF over it. Thanks for all the kind reviews, and remember: alerts and favorites mean a bunch to me, but only reviews can tell me **_**why**_** you like the story (up to 10,000 characters of "why," in fact!). Special shout-out to a random reviewer/alerter/favoriter this chapter: ****Readerforlife****. Me, too! The reading for life thing, I mean. Dude, I've been reading since I was three. Reading and writing are, like, the only things I do any more. Well, those and eating. But that's pretty much it. **


	9. In Which James is Incredibly Irritating

**Consolations**

**A/N: I would just like to share how touched I always am when I read your kind, kind reviews. Well, maybe 'touched' isn't the word I'm looking for. Perhaps 'super-excited,' 'jumping for joy,' or just plain 'happy,' is a better choice. Anyways, thanks a bunch for them. Right now, my favorite person in the world is ****C-Berry ()****. CB, I try to make it so that my stories are the kind where people want to yell when they realize they will have to wait. I'm glad I've been successful **** Thank you all, so much.**

**Annette POV**

I watched the students mingle, amazed at the differences between their adolescent and adult selves. Severus, as I'd noticed before, was timidly uninvolved in his surroundings. Xeno was not as… odd as his daughter was in her school days, and had a large circle of friends surrounding him, laughing at his goofball antics. Narcissa was chatting animatedly with her own group of friends. From what I could make out, their conversation was largely about sex and Lucius (okay, so maybe a _few_ people hadn't changed much since their school days).

I thought back to when we had been entrapped in Malfoy Manor. Narcissa had been cruel at best. What had happened to her to force her to transform into that monstrosity? At the moment, she was a bubbly, giggly young woman, probably already engaged to Lucius.

Why did the good that was in her- or at least the lack of evil- have to be pushed out like it would be? Then I remembered: she'd risked her own life to save her son's by telling the Dark Lord that Harry was dead. An evil person would not do that. Bellatrix wouldn't have done it.

Suddenly, I had a newfound respect for Narcissa Malfoy (née Black).

**Severus POV, PAST**

I tried to concentrate on my book, but the ruckus around me was too much. I stared at the words, willing myself to comprehend them. To this day, I could not tell you what that book was about. Finally, I had to give in and give up. I set the book down and listened to the conversations around me.

"Was he big?" The source of this blunt question was Lydia Romanov, a Ravenclaw who joked she was 'imported straight from Russia.' (She was adopted as an infant.)

"Oh, _really _big." That would be Narcissa Black. She was an all right girl, if a bit ostentatious at times. Out of all of my fellow Slytherins, she seemed to be most tolerant of Lily. She was by no means a friend of the "unpure," however. I suppose that was why she still managed to get engaged to the Malfoy boy. Of course, none of that mattered anymore seeing as Lily and I were no longer friends.

After a few moments of this inanity, I decided I'd heard more about Lucius than I'd (ever) wanted to know. I switched to listening in on a different group.

"How many Slytherins does it take to light a wand?" That was Xeno Lovegood. He was one of the funniest bastards in Hogwarts, and although he was a little weird (I mean, what in the name of Merlin's striped yellow pants is a Wrackspurt?), he was actually quite popular, as Ravenclaws go.

I waited for the punch line, but before he could deliver, Narcissa called out, "It doesn't matter! However well they do, Dumbledore would find a way to give a bunch of Gryffindors points for it!"

There was a wave of laughter at this: we all knew it was true. Even Annette, head still down, focusing on her work, was smiling.

**Lily POV, PAST**

"Fifteen points from Gyrffindor," I called as Sirius and James ran off, satisfied with the results of their prank. I could hear a faint pop as fifteen of the rubies disappeared from the container behind me.

They stopped. "What?" James yelled back.

"I said… oh, bugger." I walked over to him so we wouldn't have to yell back and forth, took a deep breath, and repeated myself. "I took fifteen points from Gryffindor. I'm sure all of our housemates will be so happy with you."

"Happy with _us_?" Sirius guffawed. "You're the one that took the points!"

"I took an oath when I became Head Girl to be completely just when it came to points, and even if Dumbledore isn't fair about it, I will be." Dumbledore was a touchy point for me. On the one hand, he didn't do a damn thing about it whenever James and his little friends bullied Severus, but on the other, he didn't really do anything when Sev reacted violently, either. Our Headmaster was, one could say, not much of a disciplinarian.

"Oh, what a speech," James drawled. "Fifteen points to Gryffindor."

There was a tinkle as the rubies reappeared and dropped in with the others. "Twenty points from Gryffindor."

"Twenty?" He looked surprised. "Why?"

"For being an arse. I still have yet to figure out why Dumbledore thought it would be a good idea to make you a Prefect, much less Head Boy." I started to walk away, but they just walked with me, on either side.

"That's not adhering to the rules," he said, smirking. "You're bring your personal opinions into things."

_Let him smirk_, I thought. "Oh, you're absolutely right. Five points from Gryffindor for not following the rules," I said, gesturing to myself.

James turned the other direction. Don't know where he thought he was going; we had Defense next. As he stormed off with Sirius in tow, I distinctly heard him mutter, "Thirty points to Gryffindor." Giggling, I headed toward the Defense classroom.

**Annette POV**

My seventh year Slytherins and Ravenclaws filed out of the room one by one, chatting and laughing like house unity had already been attained. I couldn't help but wonder what had initiated the divide of the houses.

A few students arrived almost immediately, and I guessed they had classes in the same corridor. The last of the Slytherins, jovially teasing each other, had not left before Remus entered. Before going to his desk, he approached my desk.

Hesitantly, he asked, "May I see you after class?"

"Of course." I smiled. "I'm always here."

Class seemed to go by both too quickly (I was afraid of what Remus may say) and not quickly enough (I was still eager to hear what he had to say) at the same time. When the alarm I'd set went off- the signal that test time was over- those who had not yet finished and turned their papers in came up and set them on my desk.

"All right, you lot have two minutes until you're dismissed," I said, sifting through the stack of papers, counting to make sure I'd gotten one from everyone. "You may sit, you may talk, you may visit."

I watched the groups they formed much closer this time. After what I'd seen with the Slytherins and Ravenclaws, I couldn't help but doubt that this apparent house unity was true throughout the entire school. Sure as sure, though, they mixed. They were mingling. I remembered how I had stuck to Gryffindors when I was in school: was I just as guilty of discrimination as Draco Malfoy?

Not by blood, but by… Sorting? Surely not. However, the more I thought about it, the more I thought that might be exactly the case.

"Annette?" I was suddenly aware that Remus was standing in front of me, waving his hand in front of my face.

"Oh, sorry. Must have… oh, well. You wanted to talk?"

"Right. Er…" He obviously hadn't spent any time planning this. "For starters," he muttered to himself, "James and Sirius are dirty rotten liars who deserve to rot in the fiery pits of Merlin's own-"

"James and Sirius are what, now?"

The tips of his ears turned red. "They said I would know what to say when I started talking, but I don't."

"So you aren't going to say anything?"

"I guess not."

"Well, you'd best be going, then." I smiled. "Maybe come back when you know what you want to say?"

Then he leaned down and kissed me. I didn't know what to do- should I kiss back? I could lose my job for this. I didn't care. Yes, I did. I pressed my lips against his, a slight pressure. He broke away suddenly, and left the room.

**Remus POV, PAST**

What the hell did I just do? She was trying to get rid of me. And I kissed her? At least I got that out of my system. I kicked the wall, realizing a bit late that that would be a bit painful. I let out a rather uncharacteristic squeak (it was still, you know, manly- it was more of a quick groan, now that I think about it) and jumped up and down, gripping my toes tightly through my shoes.

As I gingerly tested my foot to see how it would feel to step on it, I realized I was going to be very late for Transfiguration if I didn't get my arse into gear. Running, I ignored the sharp bursts of pain until I got to McGonagall's classroom and slid into a seat next to Sirius just as McGonagall herself emerged from her office.

Sirius slid a sheet of parchment- apparently already prepped for my arrival- toward me silently. _How'd it go?_

_I kissed her_, I scribbled back.

His eyes widened. He nudged James, whose reaction was similar. James scrawled something on the parchment and pushed it back to me.

_What did you say?_

This would crack them up. _Nothing. I couldn't think of what to say, so I kissed her. Then I left. I don't know how she reacted, I left really quick._

Sirius pursed his lips. James beamed. _Mooney, you old dog! _

_No, that's me, stupid. __I'm__ the dog! _Sirius wrote. He grinned, apparently pleased with this stunningly clever remark. James and I rolled our eyes in sync.

I gave McGonagall's lecture my full attention, and when Sirius slipped me the sheet again, I ripped it into pieces, then those pieces into smaller pieces, and so on, so that when we left the classroom, I first had to Vanish the remains of what had at one point been what was probably a _brilliant_ piece of prose by the amazing Sirius Black.

"Where do you think you're going?" James demanded. I turned around to face both of them. It was a bit scary, really.

"Er… up to the dorm. I'm going to pass on dinner. I'm not feeling very well," I lied, and they knew damn well it was a lie.

"Oh, no you don't," Sirius said, and grabbed me by the elbow. I groaned. "Our Mooney doesn't get his first kiss from his perfect lady and then go hide."

"She isn't my perfect lady. She's my professor."

"Whom you happened to kiss!" James exclaimed.

**Annette POV**

"Annette, are you all right?" On my right, Pomona Sprout was examining me. Her eyes held mine. "Oh, dear, what's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing much," I said, and continued to poke halfheartedly at my steak with my fork, moving it from side to side on my plate.

"You can tell me," she said, concerned, "whatever it is. I don't like seeing my colleagues so down in the dumps."

"It's just a man. I don't know if it would be right for me to be in a relationship with him, or him with me. It feels so right, thinking about it, but…"

"Is it a man," Pomona challenged, "or a boy?"

I pondered this, vaguely wondering if she knew. "Oh, it's a man all right. A man among boys, but a man."

"Annette," Pomona said quietly, "if you think it would be worth your potential career here, then go for it. If you don't, then don't."

"How do I know if it's worth it?" I asked, not going to the trouble inquiring as to how she had figured out- if she indeed had- who was bothering me.

"You'll feel it, dear." She smiled. "And anyways, it's only the second day of school, for both of you. Perhaps romance could be put on a back burner?"

I smiled back. "Perhaps." I decided then and there that Pomona Sprout and I were going to be good friends, indeed.

**A/N: I'm not at all sure why I'm adding another author's note. Oh! Maybe I should do a disclaimer thing. Okay, here we go: I do not, under any circumstances, in the farthest reaches of my imagination, in the deepest of my daydreams, own Harry Potter, Remus Lupin (though I **_**am**_** married to him), or Sirius Black (the handsome hubby of my best friend, ****EmberAurouraBlack****, whose stories I recommend!).**


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